(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for adhering straws which are individually packed with a plastic film to external surfaces of beverage vessels for milk, juice, etc. that is, so-called pack containers which are sold by vendor machines, specifically, a straw adhering apparatus for beverage vessels which adheres mechanically and consecutively a straw pack containing a straw onto external surfaces of beverage vessels which are intermittently delivered on the carrying conveyor.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Recently, milk, juice and other kinds of beverage packed in paper vessels which are called "pack containers" have been generally sold by vendor machines. In this case, these paper beverage vessels are sold with a straw for sucking the beverage which is combined with a beverage vessel. Moreover straws are individually packed one by one with a plastic film for a hygienic reason and adhered to the side of each beverage vessel by a heat sealing method.
A straw adhering apparatus has been proposed to mechanically and continuously adhere each straw pack to each beverage vessel. In other words, separate straw packs are prepared in advance and fed one by one and adhered to beverage vessels individually by heat sealing or hot melt application. For example, in case of the straw adhering apparatus for pack containers which was published in Japanese Patent No. 58-53007 on Apr. 11, 1983, the adhering apparatus which cuts continuous plastic film straw packs, each pack containing a straight straw, into individual straw packs and adheres a straw pack slantly onto the external surface of a beverage vessel, has been proposed. In this case, a configuration is shown which is intended to slant the beverage vessel obliquely on the carrier device in order to adhere the straw pack slantly onto the external surface of the beverage vessel, apply a straw to the beverage vessel to the external surface of a slanted beverage vessel by an endless straw feeding device which moves circulatively while vacuum-absorbing straw packs one by one and adhere the straw pack to the beverage vessel with a hot melt type adhesive agent which is applied in advance to the external surface of the beverage vessel.
In the case of the above apparatus, however, various problems have been pointed out. For example, the constructional complexity of the apparatus because of carrying slanted beverage vessels, difficulty in determination of the timing between the adhering position and cancellation of vacuum absorption of individual straw packs to be adhered to the beverage vessels, defect prone to cause a faulty operation, and large construction of the whole apparatus because of employment of the vacuum absorbing device have been pointed out.